Lost Girls Adventures

By Sue Monk Kidd
This story begins on a peach farm in the American South back in 1964. Lily is a 14 year old girl who was left living with her abusive father after her mother died when Lily was merely 4 years old under circumstances that she feels responsible for. Lily has only a small box with some personal items belonging to her mother, one item is a photo with a single word written on the back, Tiburon. Desperate to escape her father’s wrath and determined to find out more about her mother, Lily runs away from home with Rosaleen, their sassy housekeeper and heads to Tiburon, South Carolina.

The two find their way to the Boatwright sisters who run a bee keeping business. August Boatwright takes Lily under her wing and teaches her many things: how to care for bees, make honey products; she also teaches her about life, what it’s like to be part of a loving family and most importantly, forgiveness.

By Bridget Zinn

Poison starts off with our bad-ass heroine, Kyra, committing a B&E at the former residence she shared with fellow Master Potioners Ned and her ex-fiance Hal. She is on the run from the Queens Guard after a failed attempt to kill the future Queen Ariana, who also happens to be her best friend. Or was. Before the whole attempted murder thing.

With her poisons ready and a newly acquired pig with an extraordinary sense of smell, she sets off to find the princess and finish what she started. Along the way she meets the charming, witty and handsome traveler Fred who is more than he appears. And Kyra just can’t stop thinking about him.

If I had to sum up Poison in one word it would be “fun”. I really enjoyed this book even though it was aimed at teens. It has all the fantasy elements you’d expect- action, adventure, magic, weapons, humor and just a pinch of romance.

We took a trip to the Florida Museum of Natural History to take a stroll through the Butterfly Rainforest. I wasn't sure we would see many butterflies considering spring doesn't officially begin for a couple more weeks but there were so many butterflies! We had to be very careful where we stepped. They flit around landing wherever they please. We also had to watch out for quail crossing our path. This is a fun adventure for anyone who loves butterflies.








We definitely want to return in September for ButterflyFest!

Our second adventure for the month of February led us to Forever Florida in St. Cloud. We were looking for a unique experience and we found it! This place is a 4,700 acre nature preserve where we spotted plenty of wildlife on our ride from the check in center to the zipline towers. We saw several alligators including a mom and her babies soaking up the sun, wild pigs, turkey and deer roaming free. We were also on constant watch for snakes. Wouldn’t want to step on one of those! The staff was very friendly and accommodating for friends or relatives that just wanted to observe our madness.

We signed up for the Thrill Pack adventure which began with a seven story assisted free fall. We climbed to the top of a seven story tower and jumped off! Okay it was more of a step and small push off, but it certainly got our blood pumping. We were a tad nervous. We hoped the Panther Pounce, as it’s called, would be saved for the end of our adventure, after our adrenaline had kicked in. No such luck. We loved the encouraging word etched in the dirt below as we took our leap of faith. “SPLAT”

Surprisingly it was a nice smooth descent. It didn’t feel like falling so much as floating down. Now that the “worst” was over we headed up another tower. The Rattlesnake Zipline Roller Coaster was next on our thrill list and we couldn’t wait to hop on! Unfortunately, it was a windy day which caused people in our group to get off to a very slow start on this zipline. I did not want to get stuck hanging around out there waiting for someone to give me a push so I was determined to take a running jump off of that tower.

It was a slow start but I didn’t get stuck! I was so proud of myself, until I hit that first big dip. For a split second the ropes I had been griping for dear life went slack and my brain suddenly went, “I have just made a terrible mistake.” I felt like I was riding a roller coaster and it suddenly derailed in mid air. We have to give this ride 5 stars for the thrill factor alone. It definitely exceeded our expectations! Best. Zip. Ever.

Our last zip was called the Peregrine Plunge, a 1,300 foot zip where you can race a buddy while soaring like a falcon. This was so smooth and easy, until I tried to spin around. It didn’t go quite as planned but it was super fun!
This zipline adventure is definitely one of our top favorites!

By Sara Gruen
I knew very little about this book going in. I kept seeing it pop up all over the place and I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about. Here’s what I knew, or thought I knew, before I started reading:

1. This book is about a circus and some guy that may or may not give elephants water.
2. This book is also a fantastic movie! At least that’s what I kept hearing. I generally tend to read the book before I see the film, so that wasn’t helpful.
3. There are probably elephants in this book.

What this book is actually about:
Jacob is 90 or 93 years old, he can’t quite recall which, and living in a nursing home. He reminiscences about his early years while he waits for his family to visit and take him to the circus. We learn about young Jacob who drops out of college, where he was studying to become a veterinarian,

Our first ever adventure into zip lining happened when we were in San Diego, California in 2014. FOX set up a zip line outside the Comic Con convention center to promote their new series, Gotham. The back drop was set up to look as if you were Batman soaring through Gotham City.













We just had to try it! So we hopped in line where we stood for over an hour through sunshine and a sudden down pour that lasted just long enough to drench us thoroughly. Finally we made it to the top, strapped in, struck our pose and soared down the zip line resembling absolutely nothing to do with Batman or Batgirl unless we were auditioning for Batman on Broadway.


We strapped into our harnesses and took a nice little ride to the tower. The scenery is absolutely beautiful.















We had no idea there were lakes surrounded by canyons in the middle of Florida. Next we had to carry our equipment while penguin walking up the tower. The harness doesn’t allow your legs to bend so it’s quite an awkward and long trek up those stairs. We reached the top and we were already winded.

This month’s adventure led us right to our own back yard. Gatorland is an attraction in Orlando, Florida for the whole family. You have gator feeding shows, gator jumping shows, animal encounter shows and the major attraction that caught our eye, the Screamin’ Gator Zip Line. Soar over gator and crocodile breeding grounds suspended only by a rope? Bring it on!



Zip Lines
We spent two hours zipping over 5 zip lines and crossing one troublesome swinging rope bridge. Everyone else seemed to cross it with ease so I couldn’t figure out why I was swaying so much until I looked up and saw Bobbie grinning from behind our guide as she was coaxing him to shake the bridge on me. Evil wench! She will get what is coming to her…



















Check out our video of all five zips from tower to tower. We were not allowed to take any video equipment so we had to be filmed from the ground for the safety of the people and animals we were zipping over. I suppose a flying gopro to the head would be very unpleasant to anyone unfortunate enough to be strolling by if any mishaps were to occur. Notice all the gators around the 55 sec mark as we sail by.
















 Aviary
Next up we decided to hit the aviary and meet the colorful, friendly and very nosy array of budgies (aka parakeets). Watch where you step! These little guys are everywhere. One group distracted us by sitting on our shoulders and playing in our hair while a second group was attempting to untie our shoe laces and a third group was picking pockets!
















The aviary wasn’t the only place to see birds around this park. Everywhere we turned we were surrounded by thieving birds. If you stop for a snack keep a close eye on your food. These birds are just waiting for the perfect opportunity to snag a bite and run, or fly.



















And some obviously hate Mondays. Although this was on a Tuesday so we weren’t sure what this frazzled fowl’s problem was. Woke up on the wrong side of the nest? Stuck his beak in a light socket? Whatever the cause, he was clearly done with this day.